Rating: 
Summary: Birds do it, Bees do it
Review: Sex. We love to talk about it but not think too much about it. Judson opens the world to us of the different permutations and methods of sexual contact in the world, and why. In evolution, nature favors the ones that can pass along his or her genes tot he next generation. To ensure this, animals have created a wide variety of methods to reproduce ahead of the Joneses. Where such a topic could be boringly academic, or annoyingly titillating, Judson weaves through the middle, showing the serious side of reproduction but approaching it in a humorous way. Writing as an animal sex advice columnist, she is able to real world examples as a launching pad for discussion of various topics. And as she shows, IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE. We may think that us humans have problems with sex - it's nothing compared to the drive, and deviousness experienced in the animal world. Fresh writing and an interesting topic makes for a very enjoyable and educational read.
Rating:
Summary: Loads of info bundled into fun reading
Review: Since there have been so many extremely well written and elaborate reviews posted already, I'll keep mine short and sweet: this book is a riot. If you've every wondered just "how do they do it, and why do they do it they way they do it?", and I don't mean your neighbors, then this is a must read. Sure, there are oodles of subject-specific text books on the market, some of which require a masters degree in English to understand, but every so often there comes along a true gem such as this little book. Combining in-depth knowledge with entertaining and original writing is an art, and Olivia Judson is a master in both fields. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Loads of info bundled into fun reading
Review: Since there have been so many extremely well written and elaborate reviews posted already, I'll keep mine short and sweet: this book is a riot. If you've every wondered just "how do they do it, and why do they do it they way they do it?", and I don't mean your neighbors, then this is a must read. Sure, there are oodles of subject-specific text books on the market, some of which require a masters degree in English to understand, but every so often there comes along a true gem such as this little book. Combining in-depth knowledge with entertaining and original writing is an art, and Olivia Judson is a master in both fields. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Loads of info bundled into fun reading
Review: Since there have been so many extremely well written and elaborate reviews posted already, I'll keep mine short and sweet: this book is a riot. If you've every wondered just "how do they do it, and why do they do it they way they do it?", and I don't mean your neighbors, then this is a must read. Sure, there are oodles of subject-specific text books on the market, some of which require a masters degree in English to understand, but every so often there comes along a true gem such as this little book. Combining in-depth knowledge with entertaining and original writing is an art, and Olivia Judson is a master in both fields. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Be prepared for bugs, lots of bugs
Review: This book is fairly easy to read and imparts a lot of trivial knowledge in a fun format.I was a little disappointed on two points. First, that almost all of the subjects in the book are bugs. I'm sure mammals and reptiles have interesting sex lives, habits, and behaviors so let's hear about them. It's hard to tell if the research was focused on bugs, or if bugs are that much more interesting than the rest of us animals. Secondly, each section seems to follow a familiar pattern as far as writing style: light, medium, and extremely dense. Once the author makes her point (answering the question) the writing gets rather dense and it's difficult to finish the topic completely. Otherwise the book delivers as it promises.
Rating:
Summary: Be prepared for bugs, lots of bugs
Review: This book is fairly easy to read and imparts a lot of trivial knowledge in a fun format. I was a little disappointed on two points. First, that almost all of the subjects in the book are bugs. I'm sure mammals and reptiles have interesting sex lives, habits, and behaviors so let's hear about them. It's hard to tell if the research was focused on bugs, or if bugs are that much more interesting than the rest of us animals. Secondly, each section seems to follow a familiar pattern as far as writing style: light, medium, and extremely dense. Once the author makes her point (answering the question) the writing gets rather dense and it's difficult to finish the topic completely. Otherwise the book delivers as it promises.
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Tatiana is a clever lady
Review: This book is obviously the work of a highly intelligent, creative biologist with a sense of humor. I find myself flipping through it to reacquaint myself with some point of theory every once in awhile, even though bugs per se are not my thing. How can you not love it?
Rating:
Summary: A VERY Distorted Mirror. A Mirror Nonetheless.
Review: This extraordinary book can be read at many levels: humor, sexology, general science, evolutionary biology, and it is amazingly successful in all its various layers; some of the information it imparts is so fantastic that it will strain one's sense of reality. Can a mammal be born through the clitoris of the mother? UH?? Well, YES, it can. The spotted hyena delivers its pups through her clitoris (leading to the frequent mortality of the pups or the hyena moms). Read all about it. Or consider the well known fate of the male praying mantis, whose head keeps his sexual urges in check until this organ is devoured by the amorous female: the the male's sexual inhibitory mechanisms (residing in the head) are removed, and he becomes a veritable sexual athlete while in the throes of death. Adds Dr. Judson: "Something analogous even happens in humans: Throttle a man and like as not he'll get an erection, not from erotic pleasure in dying, but because 'Down, boy' signals from the brain stop coming." The variety of sexual behavior among the critters that populate planet earth is so extraordinary that after reading this book it will be unlikely that the extremely narrow band of sexual "deviance" among humans will have much of an impact on the reader. Sexual bondage? Pschaw! Consider the sagebrush cricket(Cyphoderis strepitans), who carries a gin trap with open jaws on his back. Those teeth clamp on the female's belly when she approaches the male (the female preference is to be on top) and immobilizes her so that the male can have his way, whether she wants to or not. Incest, cannibalism, rape, masturbation, homosexuality, they all flower in incredible variety among the users of this planet. The book is written with scientific seriousness and literary humor. Its author has the steady hand of those who dominate their field, and at the same time she displays the joy and impudence of someone who loves the theme of sexual behavior. A good index and plenty of citations round out the excellence of this work. This is a book to keep as a reference for those protracted arguments about sexuality in which humans so often engage.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Fascinating, it was hard to put down!
Review: Unable to read through the book in one setting, I found myself desperately trying to find ways to get back to it as soon as possible. Who would have thought that you could take the subject of sexual reproduction and evolutionary biology and made it into such a thoroughly entertaining read? The author chose an advice column format with letters supposedly from crickets, stick bugs, stickleback fish and dozens of other creatures asking advice about their sexual situation. Needless to say most of it is fascinating and highly unnatural - for a human that is, but perfectly normal for them. Some of the situations she describes are so bizarre as to be beyond what one would expect from even the best science-fiction writers. Olivia Judson is to be applauded for writing an educational book that is so thoroughly entertaining that it does not seem like you are actually being taught in the process. But you will learn and you will walk away with a completely different view of nature and reproduction. I was so thoroughly fascinated with the book that all I can say at this point is "Encore, encore".
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Romp Through the Animal Sexual Battleground
Review: We live in a very kinky world. Promiscuity, genitalia issues and sexual insecurities are severe problems that affect most of the planet's creatures. Thank goodness for sex columnist Dr.Tatiana. Informed and confidential she eases many a worried soul from nymphomaniac stick insects to homosexual manatees. Unfortunately she doesn't seem too interested in helping humans, perhaps because sexually we are very boring creatures. Dr.Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson is a fascinating and entertaining romp through the sexual battleground of animals, big and small, simple and complex. You will laugh out loud, shake your head and be thoroughly absorbed at the incredible sexual antics described, explained and prescribed. Through her advice to the lovelorn writing to her in desperation on such troubling issues as necrophilia, sex changes and male pregnancy, Dr. Tatiana enlightens us on the evolutionary biology of sex in an often humorous, always interesting and never tedious manner. Olivia Judson has created a real winner with Dr.Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. It is an impressively researched, enjoyable and very original read and afterwards you'll breathe a sigh of relief for being merely a dull human.
|
